The Indian benchmark indices opened slightly higher than yesterday’s closing, with both BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty rising by 0.18% to 80,227.54 and 24,544.55, respectively. On the NSE, of the 2425 stocks traded, 1639 advanced, 710 declined, and 76 remained unchanged. The marginal gain came after a weakened previous session on Thursday, as investors were cautious of the impact of the U.S. tariffs on the domestic market. 

Out of the thirty companies of the Sensex, the major gainers were Trent, Kotak Mahindra Bank and ITC. Mahindra and Mahindra was the major loser, as its share price slipped by 3.24% in the early hours of trade. Trent was up by 2.83%, at Rs 5378.25, and both Kotak Mahindra Bank and ITC were up by 1.48% each. 

On the NSE front, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ITC, and Nestle led the charge, while auto companies Mahindra and Mahindra, and Bajaj Auto dragged the index down by 2.80% and 1.15% each. Kotak Mahindra Bank broke its 6-day losing streak, as it rose by 1.6% to Rs 1975. 

Reliance Industries saw a slight dip of 0.22% in its share price ahead of its 48th Annual General Meeting (AGM), scheduled for today. 

The broader markets, however, did not reflect the positive cues, as they all were trading in the red. In sector-wise indices, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Private Banks were showing positive trends, with each up by more than 0.50%, whereas Nifty Auto was the worst performer among its peers, down 1.06%. 

In yesterday’s session, the Indian equity markets saw a steep fall, with the BSE Sensex tumbling roughly 706 points (−0.87%) to close at 80,080.57, while the Nifty50 dropped about 211 points (−0.85%) to settle at 24,500.90.